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New DVD Releases: Cop Out, The Losers, The Runaways

Andrew Payne — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:30:17 +0000

If you like bad movies, then this week is a time to celebrate, as both The Losers and Cop Out bring their questionable credentials into your house on DVD. If you let them. They’re joined on DVD by the super-hyped The Runaways and a show that your grandparents are certain to love.

Check it all out below…

FEATURE FILMS

Cop Out and The Losers

Why do we group these movies? Because they are two of the most miserably horrible movies that you’ll see all year.

But it’s more than that. Each one of these movies seems to mare a potential end. With The Losers, it could be the end of the “Hey, it was a comic! Let’s make a movie!” mentality. Just look at what happened to this and Jonah Hex. Not good.

With Cop Out it signals the end of many things. Firstly, the buddy cop drama. This one is a long suffering pet that was finally put out of its misery with this movie. Remember Showtime? Remember I Spy? Well, both of those didn’t kill it, but they certainly laid the ground work for Cop Out to do the deed. This genre just seems exhausted.

Plus, what about Kevin Smith? Where does he go from this monstrosity? At this point, he’s never really recovered from Jersey Girl and now he’s farmed out as a director-for-hire for this schlock? He seems doomed.

So if you want to see the beginning of the end, just buy the DVDs:

Also:

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsburg and the Pentagon Papers – Buy Now
The Runaways – Buy Now

TV ON DVD

“My Boys”: Season 2 & 3

I honestly had no idea this show was still on the air. I thought it was cancelled two years ago.

As it turns out, the last episode of the previous season aired about 15 months ago. 15 months!

And that’s becoming a big problem. A MAJOR problem for these cable shows. How is anyone supposed to really latch on to them when there is more than a year gap between episodes.

Like “Breaking Bad”? Well, this time next year the fourth season WON’T HAVE PREMIERED YET! What about “Curb Your Enthusiasm”? All we no is that it’s coming. Not when, just that it is. Seeya in 2012, Larry.

So why? Why do these cable shows continue to torture us with these long waiting periods? Well, I’m sure it helps with DVD sales.

So when you buy “My Boys” on DVD, just know that you’re adding to a growing problem.

“Matlock”: Season 5 – Buy Now

And, Just So You Know, This DVD Exists. . .

Now with Amazon.com Description!

“My Long Distance Relationship tells the tale of Samantha the hottest college freshman at University of Florida. She tries her hardest to resist temptation. She is courted by many people. The only way she has to keep in contact with her boyfriend is her trusty webcam. Which she uses for a little more than ‘staying in touch’.”

Oh Boy!

What DVDs are you looking forward to picking up this week?

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Interview: Michael Shannon Talks About Becoming Kim Fowley

Mali Elfman — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 22:24:35 +0000

Despite the young ladies in lingerie with guitars imitating real life rock legends, the true star of The Runaways is Michael Shannon as the infamous Kim Fowley. Perfectly insane and yet oddly charming, he commands your attention every time he’s on screen, he completely embodies the role and becomes the dynamic and much loathed and loved Rowling… diamond studded collars and all.

If one things is for sure, Shannon is one of the best actors out there for crazy roles. We were able to talk to Shannon about what it took to transform himself into the character and a whole lot more…

When you’re playing a real person with such a great distinctive personality how much creative liberty do you have and how much do you stay true to them?

Michael: With this I was pretty intimidated going into it because I did take it pretty seriously to be play a real person. A person who a lot of people are very passionate about, I mean, Kim is not a household name in Dubuque, Iowa but in L.A. he is certainly a legend. I felt a lot of pressure to try and get it right so. I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with Kim for whatever reason. We did have dinner one night and that was really helpful but I mostly referenced an interview that Kim did on the Tom Snyder Show. I probably watched that interview 200 times. So yeah, every morning when I would show up to work there was a little DVD player in the trailer and I would just pop it in and just sit there and start watching until they would call me in. Go do a scene then come back and watch it again, I just kept watching it, hoping for the best.

Do you have a sense that his sort of management style has to collapse at some point, like it does on Cherie? It can’t sustain itself at that level…

Michael: Yeah. I feel like there’s a lot of factors though. Although it does seem very different now, Rock N’ Roll is supposed to be chaotic and some way temporary. You know, exist in the moment. But then you see, nowadays it all seems so much, I don’t know, healthier somehow. You look at somebody like Taylor Swift. Man, she seems really together and really happy. (laughter) There’s none of this drama, so I don’t know what changed. I mean…

Interviewer: There’s always Britney Spears.

Michael: Yeah, there’s Britney Spears.

Was there any trepidation in saying some of the more insane or sexual things Kim says to these young girls?

Michael: I don’t know. I mean, to be honest, it’s like, at least its not subliminal. It’s just the way he sees it. I mean, to me it’s a lot more disturbing nowadays where it’s a lot more subliminal. Girls can walk around in these… you know! You watch a show on like Nickelodeon and there’s all these high school girls that are dressed like they’re ready to walk on Hollywood Blvd. or something and I’m like…that’s to me more disturbing then like being in a room [and saying something] like “This is the way it is. If you want to be Rock N’ Roll, this is the way Rock N’ Roll works and this is what’s going to get their attention and this is why they’re going to listen to you.” That’s the way it is. It’s been that way, I mean look at Elvis shaking his hips around.

Did you go back and find more records that Kim had produced for Helen Reddy to stuff he wrote for KISS?

Michael: I have a great album that I have Kim’s put together, it’s called “Other People’s Garbage”. Oh yeah, I love those weird songs. God I love those songs. Something about “I’m a big fat Alasken…”

Do you ever aspire to doing a say, a nice romantic comedy, what one may call a conventional leading man role, or are you really drawn to these intense, crazy characters?

Michael: Well I don’t know. It’s kind of what comes to me. I’m not, I mean I’m not Gerard Butler, I’m just not. He’s him and I’m me. We both do different things. But there’s not people calling me up every morning saying “So Mike what do you want to do?” With the situation like this, it’s good for me because I think they felt, Floria and the Lenses felt there wasn’t anyone else that could do it. To be honest, truth be told, they probably could have gotten a bigger name for the part.

Did the script to you through an agent? I mean, how did you, do you…?

Michael: I heard about it through an agent. My agent called and said, “The Lenses and Floria really want to meet with you on The Runaways” but I had, you know, The Boardwalk Empire pilot going on and there was a huge shroud of you can’t do anything else, this is what you do. And for a long time I didn’t even think I was going to be able to do The Runaways and then finally Art was able to make some phone calls and get it sorted out. I’m glad he did.

Are you just in the pilot or are you going to be a regular?

Michael: No, I’m a regular character. I mean in this regard, maybe you will be surprised although I mean I play the law enforcement guy on the show. I’m the law man, so there you go.

I can see you as being kind of the intimidating law man.

Michael: Yeah. So, Nelson special agent Van Alden. Yeah, I guess it’s coming out in September.

The past couple of years seem to be going very well for you, are you pretty satisfied with how things are going?

Michael: I’m very happy. I get to have my cake and eat it too. I mean I still get to do a lot of stage which I love to do and all the films I work on I’m pretty proud of, mostly very proud of.

How different in experience was doing Jonah Hex, a big comic book movie?

Michael: Jonah Hex was, yeah that was just fun. I mean, I’m not in Jonah Hex a lot. I have a couple scenes, cameo. But I had a really fun character to play. I’m kind of this corny guy. This snake oil salesmen kind of guy with these mangled teeth, and sort of this hunchback, big stone piped hat. It was a lot of fun, pretty relaxed for me in a way. Josh Brolin, it was not relaxed for him. He had to work really, really hard. He actually, in my carnival he has a scene where I had to watch him exert himself quite a bit. I was like thank God I’m not him. I get to just stand up here and cackle while he’s rolling around in the dirt down there.

Want more? Check out our interview with Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning on becoming The Runaways and our interview with the real Cherie Curry!

See Michael Shannon in The Runaways in theaters now!

Movie Releases: Repo Men, The Runaways, The Bounty Hunter

Anet Hovhanesian — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:30:44 +0000

Decisions, decisions, decisions. With so many great movies coming out this week, how do you know which one is worth watching? There’s Thor Freudenthal’s feel good comedy, Diary of a Wimpy Kid starring Zachary Gordon and Miguel Sapochnik’s action thriller, Repo Men starring Jude Law and Forest Whitaker.

There’s also the predictable romantic comedy The Bounty Hunter, which pretty much gives you the full story from beginning to the end in its two minute trailer. It’s directed by Andy Tennant and stars the always lovely Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler. The film is about a man, a bounty hunter to be exact, who learns that his next target is his ex-wife, a reporter working on a murder cover-up that’s put her in some serious danger.

Next we have Floria Sigismondi’s biopic, The Runaways about the infamous punk band composed of a group of rebellious teenage girls living near Hollywood in the seventies. The film focuses on their rise to fame as well as the relationship with their manipulative manager Kim Fowley. The movie stars Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning, and Oscar nominated actor Michael Shannon.

Check out the films coming out this week…

The Bounty Hunter | Screencrave Review | Reviews | Showtimes and Tickets
The Runaways | Interviews: The Real Cherie Currie, Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning |Sundance Review| Reviews | Showtimes and Tickets
Diary of a Wimpy Kid | Reviews | Showtimes and Tickets
Repo Men | Screencrave Review | Reviews | Showtimes and Tickets
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo | Reviews | Showtimes and Tickets

Watch the Trailers…

The Bounty Hunter

The Runaways

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Repo Men

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Which film do you plan on seeing this weekend?

Review Round Up: The Runaways

Laura Aguirre — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:56:14 +0000

This weekend Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart will show the world that they can be more than just teen movie stars with their latest film. The Runaways hits theaters tomorrow, and we’ve gathered reviews from critics and compiled them into one helpful article. It appears that this movie has love it or hate it written all over it, which can be good because it stirs controversy, which leads to conversation that eventually puts asses in the seats.

Take a look at what the top dogs are saying about The Runaways...

The Story:

[The Runaways is] pungent and quick on its feet, capturing the clubs, the shag-heavy interiors and the Farrah-haired vibe of mid-1970s Los Angeles in look and spirit. [Chicago Tribune]
So this isn’t an in-depth biopic, even though it’s based on Currie’s 1989 autobiography. It’s more of a quick overview of the creation, rise and fall of the Runaways, with slim character development, no extended dialogue scenes, and a whole lot of rock ‘n’ roll. [Robert Ebert]
The film delivers some high velocity punches mainly due to a number of great performances (especially by the magnificent Michael Shannon) but overall doesn’t have the kick it needs to be worthy of the music. The film lacks the brutal honesty of reality and in attempting to sugar coat it, it makes you think you’re watching kiddie porn instead of a group of lost girls discovering themselves. [ScreenCrave]

The Acting:

Kristen Stewart, as Joan Jett, channels all of her weird, fidgety Twilight energy into a compelling, tomboyish figure of a girl/woman who just wants to rock as hard—or harder—as her male counterparts (Ms. Jett also served as an executive producer on the film). And Dakota Fanning, all grown up from her Dr. Seuss days, is believable as jail-bait Cheri Currie—half David Bowie, half Brigit Bardot, picked by Svengali-like producer Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) for her looks and style before even going through the trouble of finding out whether she could sing. [The New York Observer]
Stewart and Fanning handle the vocals admirably, their live performances blending seamlessly with actual Runaways recordings on the soundtrack. Whatever else you might say about The Runaways, it’s a movie that definitely loves rock ‘n’ roll. [Associated Press]
Shannon looks scary and stops the show with his rants, but he’s too endearingly damaged, too nice, to convey the real Fowley’s otherworldly creepiness. [New York Magazine]

Direction:

Making her feature debut, Sigismondi conjures up a cheapo New World Pictures vibe that’s utterly persuasive. [Chicago Reader]
Writer-director Floria Sigismondi has worked in photography, sculpture and music videos, and she gets behind the eyes and into the nervous systems of her subjects, without turning them into instruments of easy pathos. [Chicago Tribune]
[Sigismondi] makes an impressive feature-film directing debut, crafting a brisk, engaging portrait, the story making up for its lack of insight into teen rebel Jett and her bandmates with driving, infectious rhythm. [Associated Press]

Music:

The soundtrack (which includes numerous other artists of the era) rocks, naturally. [Variety]

Check out our early review of The Runways from Sundance.

Will you be watching The Runways this weekend?

Interview: Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning Become The Runaways

Mali Elfman — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:00:45 +0000

Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning transform themselves into real life rock legends Joan Jett and Cherie Currie in The Runaways. There’s no doubt about it, these two young vixens give themselves completely to the real life story of becoming of rock star by the age of 14-years-old. Both encompassed the look and the feel of these bad-ass chicks, smashing through stereotypes and being pushed to the edge of their sanity. Dressed in almost nothing, both actors leave their innocent selves behind and become real teenage rock stars.

We were able to catch up with the duo at a roundtable for the film and ask them some questions about becoming The Runways below…

Does every successful actor harbor dreams of being a rock star?

Dakota Fanning: I think everybody has that inner part of themselves that wishes they could perform and be on stage. I’ve definitely had that. I think doing this movie and performing Cherry Bomb and doing the performance scenes is the closest I’ll ever get to those dreams.

How did you capture that Japan performance of Cherry Bomb?

DF: I think just watching the Live in Japan videos of Cherie and getting to know her and realizing that especially Cherry Bomb is like a choreographed dance. She did the same thing each and every time and it was a routine and she did it without even thinking about it. So making that performance like that for me was really important.

How did you capture not only the performance but the character of Joan?

Kristen Stewart: Well, luckily they were so open and enthusiastic and ready to tell the story that we had them as a constant resource so we never felt like we were making anything up because with a story like this, it’s so not your normal experience on a movie. Usually you get to sort of on the fly or in rehearsal, create something. This was not that so the fact that they were there and so sort of open and awesome made it a lot easier, but both of them are really hard characters to play actually, because you meet them and they’re so dynamic. They’re just really big personalities. You hope to capture an essence because they become your friend and it’s a huge responsibility.

What are some lessons you took from them that will carry on the rest of your life?

DF: Wow, I think it’s really tough because I feel like when they become your friends, they just keep giving you stuff every day. I talk to Cherie a lot. She just says little things that kind of inspire me and I remember and are important to me. Something that relates to the movie is her sacrifice at the end of the film. She sacrificed everything that she loves and this career because she knows that she’s not going to make it much longer if she continues on this downward spiral and she’s not really equipped for the lifestyle that she’s been leading.

KS: And Joan is.

DF: So that just taught me a lot about what she gave up. I don’t know if I could give it up when faced with that. She just was so courageous in that decision. That was really inspiring to me.

How did you first get involved? Did Joan come to you?

KS: I read a script and just was very pleased that they wanted me to be a part of it. I met Joan after I got the part and it was so scary because it sort of felt like this is the meeting that either fires me or keeps me on. My hair was still long. I was about to do New Moon. I sort of felt like she was going to look at me and go, “What makes you think…?”

When you have people who are so accessible, what’s the advantage of knowing them besides being able to ask them questions? Do you work harder or is it easier?

DF: I think it becomes easier. I think it becomes a lot easier and definitely the way I wanted it to be and I was just really happy that both of them supported the film and liked making the film because I just think that would be really horrible if they didn’t obviously.

KS: Especially, I mean this is just an interesting thing, they’re public figures. So we could have made this movie regardless. They covet this thing and us to a certain degree which sort of is like everything you could ever hope for.

The treatment floated around for 30 years in Hollywood. Is there a sense of destiny when the scripts find you?

KS: For me, it always has to be, and I know Dakota is sort of the same deal. You can’t do something so ridiculous as to play another person in a movie for pretend, unless it speaks to you in a certain way and you feel like it’s worth it. You take something from every character you play. You get to use their lives sort of like – - and in this case, considering – - there’s a million reasons why this movie is cool but there is an indescribable thing that fills you with the thought that you can actually do it. Because there’s a lot of scripts that I read that like oh, it’s my age for a role, but I can’t play that part. I don’t have that in me. I guess it could be considered, I don’t know, kismet. It’s in the stars.

How familiar were you with the music before?

DF: I was familiar with Joan Jett. I didn’t know who the Runaways were and I wasn’t familiar with Cherie, as I think a lot of people our age are not familiar with The Runaways, which is kind of weird now thinking back because they were like the first all girls rock n’ roll band.

KS: Literally, which is a weird thing to think. I didn’t really consider that a whole lot when we were making the movie.

A lot of musical biographies deal with drugs and alcohol and it can be exciting for actors to play. Was it important to you that that wasn’t the total focus of this movie?

DF: Definitely. I think that there’s so much intense subject matter in the movie but it’s just all kind of there. It doesn’t focus on one particular thing and I think that’s what makes it the whole story. Especially for Cherie because she really gets into the whole drug thing and ultimately can’t get out of it and is not equipped to deal with it. So that’s kind of a part of her but it doesn’t define her in a way. I didn’t want it to be like the only thing about Cherie is that this happened to her. It was just another thing that makes up who she is today.

Was there any discovery about life in the valley back then versus now?

DF: Yeah, I mean I’m not from L.A. I’m from Georgia. But yeah, I live there and I go to school there. It’s funny because I was reading Cherie’s book which the script’s kind of based on it. She had a really big car accident at what is now Twains, at Coldwater and Ventura which I see every day. She had like a near death car accident there. I was reading that and I was thinking like, “Okay, I drive by there every day. That is so…” There are so many things, like the rehearsal trailer was on Ventura Blvd. which is we’re pretty much all on Ventura Blvd. at some point. So there are so many things that we probably drive by every single day we don’t know that they’re so historic to this story and this time.

Is this the first R-rated movie you’ve each done?

DF: No, not really.

KS: Not at all actually.

Are there some scenes you warn your parents not to watch? Is it weird?

DF: I mean, one of the first movies I’d ever done was pretty intense subject matter and my parents have kind of gotten used to it by now I guess. They know it’s just acting.

KS: Do you find that it’s gotten easier because I find that it has. Seriously, I was more nervous about it when I was younger and it was like a slow wearing down of like okay, Kristen’s going to do what she’s going to do. She’s just going to do these movies. Not that they were against it, just that projection I took away from them. I sort of didn’t care anymore. I was like, “Are you guys cool with this?”

Joan said the chick better like Suzie Quatro. Do you?

KS: I do now. That’s what’s cool about this movie. I did not know Suzie Quatro. Joan loves music. I know most of her – - she loves the Stones, she loves stuff like that I know but Suzie Quatro’s great.

They released 10 seconds of the Eclipse trailer. What should we be excited for in the full one?

KS: I don’t know, I haven’t seen it.

DF: We were supposed to watch that.

KS: We were supposed to watch that at lunch.

What are you excited for in Eclipse?

DF: I’m in it a few scenes. I filmed only for a little bit but I’m excited for it. I think it’ll be really good.

Check out Fanning as Cherie Currie and Steweart as Joan Jett in theaters this Friday March 19th in The Runaways.

[flashvideo file=/sctrailers/the_runaways_trailer.mp4] streamer=rtmpt://e1f1.simplecdn.net/play type=video /]

Interview: The Real Cherie Currie

Mali Elfman — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:00:21 +0000

As Dakota Fanning gears up for her big break through role in The Runaways this week, lets not forget where the real story came from. David Bowie fan Cherie Currie at at the age of 14 years-old was thrown into the first all female rock band and put on tour for nearly two years straight in the mid-70′s when the more blush and the more cocaine you had on you, the more successful you were. Not long after puberty, Cherie was dressed in lingerie singing about being a “blond bombshell ready to explode” and the results were just that. She burnt out before she was ever even given a chance.

Find out what it was like for the upbeat and wise Cherie to watch Fanning transform herself into a Runaway and what advice she has for upcoming teenagers looking to become rock stars…

What’s it like to see this movie? To see yourself when you were a kid? What was that like for you?

Cherie Currie: Every time I see the movie it’s just another major feeling of just being in awe. It’s really the greatest honor to have a movie about your life and things that you had done. The Runaways was really so unique and so worthy of this. It’s very gratifying and really incredible that I still can’t wrap my head around it.

And it’s so great to have Dakota Fanning, who is such a great young actress, it seems like that’s a tough role to take on. Did you get to speak with her at all? Did you give her any advice stepping into it?

CC: Oh yeah, we spent a lot of time together — she was really ready for this. Dakota has always been ahead of her time, just like we were in The Runaways. Dakota is just brilliant. She was more than ready to take this on. She was fearless; she is fearless. That is what she had to be, and she was my age for The Runaways. Pretty incredible.

It was an interesting experience to see Dakota Fanning show so much of her body at such a young age, but that was exactly what you went through. Now that you’re a grown, mature woman, does that kind of put it in perspective, how young you were when all of this was taking place?

CC: It really hit home for me because I’m a mother of a 19-year-old son. He was actually offered to go on tour when he was 15. I put a stop to that right away because just, no (laughs). It’s pretty surreal and unbelievable that we were actually able to do that. I just cant even imagine what [our parents] went through letting us go venture out into the world without any supervision. It had to have taken an enormous amount love for us to have let that happen. They wanted us to have our dreams, and they suffered, greatly, and worried about us all the time. I don’t know how they did it.

And these costumes, you look back on these photos and it seemed like they were, pretty much, dead on.

CC: They really captured the 70s. What I love about it is that they were fearless. It wasn’t like ‘The Brady Bunch’ or — not putting that show down because I love that show — but just saying it really captures, not only the darkness of the clubs and really what was going on there because everyone, almost everyone, was lying to their parents about where they were going at night. It was extremely well done and the costumes and the makeup was that way.

And was that all true story? Basically all that we saw, can you vouch for that?

CC: Well I won that talent show, so that was false. They did throw food at me, but that was before, when I first started dressing differently and wearing lightning bolts across my face and going to school that way, they didn’t take that very well, but slowly and surely even the kids that were picked on for wearing glasses, people would call a nerd, they did come to school with a lightning bolt on her cheek and David Bowie jacket, it was really neat to see this kids so depressed, come out of their shell and come out of their shell. I felt very good about that.

Did you ever have any regrets looking back of leaving the band, or are you very happy to have left and started your own life that was separate from all of that?

CC: Well I don’t have any regrets. I do wish we would have taken a break and that we could have regrouped, it just never stopped. We were never given a break in two years of heavy touring and we were so young, I was homesick, my dad was ill and it was just a whole lot. I wish we would have had better management or better people taking care of us. We didn’t have that. Made for a good story and what the truth is.

Do you think you guys would would have had a chance under proper management and not been under the tyrant Kim Fowley?

CC: I don’t know because we were so young and were just growing into being young women and there jealousies and turned against each other. We never knew what was true or what wasn’t. And me, being the lead singer, I took a lot of the tension away in the press which was not anything that was ever intended. We were tired, and when you got young girls who were exhausted and what do you say? I don’t know.

People who were talking about Michael Shannon who played your manager Kim, was that an accurate portrayal of him?

CC: Michael did a great job. Kim is so unique, and Michael, I thought, he captured the best parts of him. The darker sides of him. I don’t know if anyone could ever truly understand Kim, even Kim himself, but Michael did a great job.

Do you have any advice for young musicians, and young actors, and young everybody, who are starting at the ages that you started at? To not burn out, or to continue? Any advice for them starting out their careers?

CC: Be fearless and don’t let anyone tell you, you can’t do something. Usually, it’s when you listen to people that you get all screwed up. Just go for it.

Check out Dakota Fanning playing Cherie Currie in The Runaways this Friday March 19th!

Watch The Runaways Theatrical Trailer

Krystal Clark — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:02:19 +0000

The theatrical trailer for the upcoming punk biopic, The Runaways has been released and it features tons of new footage. It gives you a visual of the band’s humble beginnings and the drama they went through once they actually made it. As usual, Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning are the highlighted performers in the trailer, but no one can upstage Oscar nominated actor Michael Shannon when he’s on screen.

The Runaways were one of the greatest punk bands to come out of the 1970s Los Angeles music scene. Not only was their music legendary, but they were one of the only successful female groups in the male dominated genre. Their music was off the charts and so was their lifestyle. The film focuses on the duo of guitarist/vocalist Joan Jett and lead vocalist Cherie Currie as they deal with fame, drugs, and abuse all before their 18th birthdays.

The trailer is filled with several scenes that over sexualize both Stewart and Fanning as Joan Jett and Cherie Currie. It comes off a bit awkward because it’s so much, so fast and it’s in your face. But even with that, you can’t deny that Stewart is perfect casting and Michael Shannon is the king of playing creepy a-holes on screen.

Check out the latest trailer…

The Runaways will debut in limited theaters on March 19, then wide on April 9, 2010 and is directed by Floria Sigismondi.

What do you think of the theatrical trailer for The Runaways? What do you think about Stewart and Fanning’s performance?

New Kristen Stewart Photo From The Runaways

Krystal Clark — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:00:50 +0000

March is just around the corner, and on the 19th of next month we’ll see Kristen Stewart spend a good chunk of time doing her best Joan Jett impersonation. The young actress can be seen in theaters this weekend in the limited release The Yellow Handkerchief, but if punk rock biopics are more your style you might want to wait for The Runaways. A new photo has been released of Miss Stewart in character as Jett with her black mullet and all, take a look…

In this latest photo from the film we see a barely dressed Joan Jett rocking out with her guitar in a rundown bedroom. The actress definitely mastered the semi-cracked out look the band had back in the day, and if she can do some decent guitar miming we might have a winner.

Here’s the full photo below…

What do you think of Stewart as Joan Jett in The Runaways?

Source: Cinemablend

Sundance 2010: Runaways – Not as Good as the Band

Mali Elfman — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:34:46 +0000

It’s not often that I’m both eager for a film to finish and yet think the ending was too sudden. Perhaps that’s because there was no real ending to The Runaways, it just went on and on until it didn’t. The film delivers some high velocity punches mainly due to a number of great performances (especially by the magnificent Michael Shannon) but overall doesn’t have the kick it needs to be worthy of the music. The film lacks the brutal honesty of reality and in attempting to sugar coat it, it makes you think you’re watching kiddie porn instead of a group of lost girls discovering themselves.

The beginning of the film sets a fast pace that carries you along, sucks you into these girls lives, has you laughing, and tapping your feet to some killer music. About halfway through the film, it starts to lose its pace and direction. The last 20 minutes plateau and just kind of go on until they stop with no real ending, climax, or sense of satisfaction.

As for the acting, Kristen Stewart is damn good. She has great moments where she embodies Joan Jett and leaves herself behind. It was nice to see her break away from her usual roles as the victim who has to be saved and see her take control of the situation and fight back. When she was large and in charge she found a few moments of complete stillness and was absolutely beautiful. Sadly, other times she was still that twitchy girl we’ve seen in the past. I stand by my argument that if not for this whole Twilight phenomenon, she would be a great indie actress who would build her skills and career and eventually be one of those solid actresses that you see in everything. Luckily she sticking with the smaller, more quality films with this and Welcome to the Rileys. She definitely has it in her to be both popular and great.

Dakota Fanning is a wonderful actress and since she was a babe, she always delivers. Some people see this as her coming out of her shell and becoming a women with her role as Cherie Currie, I could only see a 15-year-old girl in lingerie with her legs spread. Instead of these scenes being powerful and proving a point that this girl was lost, they looked more like kiddie porn and it completely takes you out of the film. The story called for these scenes to be upsetting, not a turn on. She gave a great performance but it was not properly captured and therefore doesn’t deliver the message it should.

Michael Shannon is a fucking genius. He knows how to walk on screen and demand your attention no matter what role he’s in. As “Kim” the asshole music producer who comes off a bit more colorful in the movie than the true asshole he was in real life, he’s amazing. Still, he knows how to deliver an insult, make you laugh, and completely controlled every scene he was in and gave the movie the gusto and personality is desperately needed.

The Good:

The Music: There’s a reason why they were so popular, they made some kick ass songs and watching them be performed and how they were made on the big screen was a blast.
The Performances: Across the board, great acting.
The Idea Behind the Story: These girls opened doors and changed rock n’ roll forever. It’s kick-ass.

The Bad:

The Tone: This is somewhat of a dark and tragic story and it would have been nice to experience that more.
The (lack of an) Ending: The start was great, but the ending was lack-luster at best.

Rating: 6.5/10

The Runaways Teaser Poster

Krystal Clark — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 19:09:18 +0000

Last week we brought you some high quality photos from the rock biopic The Runaways, as well as a never before seen clip from the movie. Now, a teaser poster has just been released and in honor of the group’s biggest hit, it’s a cherry bomb. The film is scheduled to hit theaters on March 19th and stars Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning. Here’s the explosive teaser poster…

The film is currently playing at this year’s Sundance Film Festival before making its general debut in March. It’s directed by Floria Sigismondi and co-stars the talented Michael Shannon as the band’s possessive manager. The movie has been getting a lot of attention because of its adult subject matter and young stars, more specifically Fanning.

Here’s the teaser poster, which features the che-che-che-che-che-che-che-cherry bomb.

What do you think of the teaser poster for The Runaways?

The Runaways Clip: Joan Jett Meets Cherie Currie

Krystal Clark — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:55:20 +0000

Yesterday we brought you a batch of high quality photos from the biopic The Runaways, which will be making its debut at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. In this newly released video clip we see the first introduction of Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) and Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) by creepy record producer Kim Fowley played perfectly by Michael Shannon. Here’s all the feathered bangs, mullets, and David Bowie makeup you can handle…

In the video clip, Fowley approaches Currie in a club and asks her to audition for his new girl band that he claims will make Rock and Roll history. He then introduces Joan to Cherie, and from that point on the seed of The Runaways is planted. It’s weird to watch Fanning play such a sexed up character considering her age, but we’ve seen worse from other actors in the past. I think what will bother people the most is her image as a child actress, because I Am Sam and War of the Worlds wasn’t that long ago.

Here’s the clip…

What do you think of Stewart and Fanning’s portrayal of Joan and Cherie?

New Photos From The Runaways

Krystal Clark — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:40:00 +0000

Now that the Sundance Film Festival is upon us it seems like the promotion for this year’s films has been kicked up a notch. Today several high quality photos from the biopic The Runaways have been released and they feature Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Michael Shannon, Alia Shawkat, and more…

Back in December we saw a very short teaser trailer for the film that showed us glimpses of the unstable lifestyle that the famous group maintained. With these new photos we get a closer look at some of the actors who didn’t get a fair amount of screen time, like Shawkat. The following photos feature some eerie shots including one with Fanning and Stewart that’s too close for comfort…

The Runaways will be released by Apparition in over 1400 theaters on March 19th.

What do you think of the photos from The Runaways? Do they capture the essence of the real group?

Source: Collider

ScreenCrave.com » The Runaways

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Sundance 2010: Runaways – Not as Good as the Band

The Good:

The Bad:

Rating: 6.5/10

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